Our View

On Election Day – Tuesday, Nov. 6 – registered voters across the country will be able to exercise one of the most precious privileges our democracy grants us – the opportunity to determine who will represent us in our government.
Lancaster County voters will help choose our next president, U.S. and S.C. House representatives, county sheriff, County Council member and Lancaster City Council members. The other races on local ballots are all unopposed.
County voters will choose between these hopefuls:

Every couple of years, right before elections, certain topics are frequently discussed, then fade into the background once politicians have secured your vote.
Budget deficits and the national debt are among the ones that come up most often.
Debt is also among the most difficult topics for the average person to understand. After all, if you’re an average South Carolinian making $32,000 a year, it is difficult to understand exactly how much money $1 trillion is.

The city of Lancaster is putting its money where its mouth is in support of a future business park near Lancaster County Airport on S.C. 9 West.
Lancaster City Council, by a 6-1 vote, approved at its Oct. 23 meeting to allocate $900,000 to extend city water and sewer services to the Lancaster Air-Rail Industrial Park, a joint project being planned by Lancaster City and County Councils.

The Lancaster County Chamber of Commerce is stepping to the fore in a solid effort to boost the local economy.
The latest season of the Think Lancaster First campaign took flight at the chamber’s annual Rub of the Green golf tournament on Oct. 11 at the Lancaster Golf Club.
A highlight of the popular golf tournament was a hot-air balloon, which was adorned with the Think Lancaster First banner.
The balloon was a hot spot during the afternoon tournament with more than 100 riders.

A gold medal and three silvers are nothing to sneeze at as the old saying goes.
Rather, it’s something to be proud of over a two-year athletic career in the state meet.
Those are the honors Lancaster High School senior swimmer Jory Pettit posted in the last two Class AAAA state swim meets.
Pettit, as a junior, won the gold in the 50-yard freestyle and took the silver in the 100-yard freestyle.

National recognition is nice and national recognition two straight years is, well, twice as nice.
That’s what Springs Memorial Hospital earned from the Joint Commission – the leading accreditor of health-care organizations in America.

Most folks in our area know the importance of the University of South Carolina Lancaster in our community.
Palmetto State residents now know what we’ve known for years.
USCL, a regional campus of the University of South Carolina, was recently ranked as the most successful two-year campus in the Palmetto State.
A summary of college and university graduation rates prepared by the S.C. Commission on Higher Education scored USCL at a success rate of 66.9 percent.

It’s almost show time for the seventh annual Indian Land Fall into Fun Festival and third annual S.C. Championship Chili Cookoff.
Saturday’s festival promises to be a lot of fun for everyone from toddlers to teens and older folks, all for a good cause.
“This is the biggest fundraiser for the Indian Land Rotary Club, and what we do with the funds is give back, mostly to the local Indian Land community,” Indian Land Rotary Club President Dr. Adam Cooper said.

Sometimes it’s not all about the wins and losses.
Friday afternoon, Aug. 24, it was about a new start for the University of South Carolina Lancaster soccer program.
For the first time in the history of the school, the USCL Lancers teams were able to play matches on campus.
As Lancers’ athletic director Rick Walters said, fans watching the matches were watching more than soccer, they were “watching history.”
The Lancers’ women’s program is in its sixth season, while the USCL men are in their first campaign.

No school. No work. Yes, it’s the Labor Day holiday. Time for that end-of-summer fling whether it’s in the mountains, the beaches or just in the backyard with family, friends, a grill and even fireworks.
Monday, Sept. 3, is a federal holiday that celebrates the contributions of America’s workers. Schools are closed, as well as government offices, banks and other businesses.
The origin of summer’s final holiday dates back 130 years.
The first U.S. Labor Day was celebrated on Sept. 5, 1882 in New York City.